Some people just won't stop driving drunk. Losing their license doesn't help and counseling isn't changing their ways.A measure that would give judges the ability to send them to prison is set to be heard in a legislative appropriations committee Thursday, and we hope its members keep in mind how dangerous these folks are.The debate is expected to focus on the estimated cos...

There needs to be liquor enforcement by the Denver Police first.There currently is no liquor enforcement in Denver other than underage stings by police recruits.People lose their sense of good judgment with overconsumption of alcohol.The alcohol level has been lowered to .05 for DUI equal to two Beers for a 180lb person in one hour.I know someone that went to jail for one year after his third DUI (he was hit by a drunken driver and not at fault for the accident)Increased enforcement for DUI starts at the Bar, not doing so just makes money for the Dill & Dill law firm.

They probably should consider making it the second one is a felony, instead of third. The first DUI should be a warning to change, but a second is hard to defend after that. We want people to change and have a strong incentive not to drink and drive after a DUI. These high profile cases of people causing wrong way accidents, seemed they all had at least one DUI on their record. If they had had more incentive not to do it again, that might have made the difference. We don't want to give a second chance to kill someone. Second chance to change, yes. But they won't change if they have another opportunity in their heads to goof up.

Not really seeing the point of a lifetime thing either. It should be an "ever" thing. Second DUI ever, felony.

Last edited by Postgrad on April 9th, 2014, 9:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

R Denonville wrote:There needs to be liquor enforcement by the Denver Police first.There currently is no liquor enforcement in Denver other than underage stings by police recruits.People lose their sense of good judgment with overconsumption of alcohol.The alcohol level has been lowered to .05 for DUI equal to two Beers for a 180lb person in one hour.I know someone that went to jail for one year after his third DUI (he was hit by a drunken driver and not at fault for the accident)Increased enforcement for DUI starts at the Bar, not doing so just makes money for the Dill & Dill law firm.

What other liquor enforcement at the bars is there? You might as well close the bars then, or change ordinances. You want the police to pull people over as soon as they leave the bar? On what basis will they do so? Are they going to watch people take drinks, and count how many? There isn't enough manpower. What are you talking about?

And no, I disagree. I don't feel the DUI limit should be lowered because it's somewhat arbitrary. We want to stop the people who are causing these high profile accidents, the wrong way drivers etc. We don't want to ruin the lives of people who went out and had a couple beers and are fine getting home. Someone who had a couple beers is not going to cause an accident like the one recently on Colfax. Overly punitive and punitive of the wrong people.

There are some people who don't care if they put others at risk and they hide their intoxication really well. My son had a buddy who he thought was sober and he let him drive his truck. He didn't drink in front of my son. Alcoholics hide and drink. He rolled my sons truck. They were very lucky that they survived with only minor bumps and scrapes. My son was very smart to purchase full coverage insurance. This just happened about a month ago so the insurance adjustments are still pending. My sons truck was destroyed. The jerk was such a pathological liar that he tried to get the cop to believe my son was driving, but all the evidence and eyewitnesses proved otherwise. He found out afterwards that this roll-over will be his sixth DUI. He'll be in prison a long time which I'm grateful for. With friends like him who needs enemies?

Assumptions makes an A out of you more than it does me. I am a Colorado native. I vote.

One of the problems is enforcement. The police are looking for any excuse to pull over a car. That is why there are stops for burned out taillights, license plate lights, speeding a couple of miles over the limit, etc. They find a driver who admits having two beers and then go through the entire routine of roadsides (sober people cannot pass these- try them sometime), arrest, and processing. For the two hours that the cop is off the road, a bunch of curb-bouncers were driving.

Police administration gives these cops an atta-boy for their keen detective skill. They impose quotas (despite the denials) and officers pick the low hanging fruit. There is a reason why the BAC level in arrests has dropped statistically. It is not for "better training in detection" but because the police are encouraged to stop for any perceived infraction, not just bad or dangerous driving.

I find it ironic that we are even considering costs as a determinate to passing this bill. What are the intrinsic costs associated with having these people on the streets killing families? Don't water it down................give it some teeth.........0 tolerance.

Allowing multiple DUI's shows a callous disregard for life. After two DUI's, the perp deserves a seriously long prison term. These are habitual drunk drivers, who didn't learn from the milder penalties. The percentage of times you get caught is way low compared to the number of times they have driven drunk. And the number of horrific accidents caused by first time drunk drivers is ridiculously low.

I'm not in favor of putting more people in jail for a DUI stop, as in most cases the long term costs of an incarceration are seriously out of proportion with this type of "crime" (e.g., loss of job, difficulty obtaining future unemployment, etc.).

I favor economic penalties - such as car confiscation, mandatory rehab treatment, and community service.

One DUI--loss of license for a year, automatic $1000 fine, one month community service. Two DUIs--loss of license for two years, automatic $2000 fine, one month in jail, three months community service. Three DUIs,--loss of license for life, automatic $5000 fine, one year in jail, vehicle confiscated by the state and sold--proceeds to the state.

Any fatality involved, penalty for three (automatic $10,000 fine) plus 30 years in prison.

As for the sob sisters who say a jail stay would wreck someone's life, so does an accident involving a DUI. It's time to get these sociopaths off the roads.

R Denonville wrote:There needs to be liquor enforcement by the Denver Police first.There currently is no liquor enforcement in Denver other than underage stings by police recruits.People lose their sense of good judgment with overconsumption of alcohol.The alcohol level has been lowered to .05 for DUI equal to two Beers for a 180lb person in one hour.I know someone that went to jail for one year after his third DUI (he was hit by a drunken driver and not at fault for the accident)Increased enforcement for DUI starts at the Bar, not doing so just makes money for the Dill & Dill law firm.

Right, but how do the cops do "liquor enforcement" the way you suggest? Are they supposed to have a line of cop cars in front of every bar, restaurant and liquor store in Denver?

nosebleed section wrote:One of the problems is enforcement. The police are looking for any excuse to pull over a car. That is why there are stops for burned out taillights, license plate lights, speeding a couple of miles over the limit, etc. They find a driver who admits having two beers and then go through the entire routine of roadsides (sober people cannot pass these- try them sometime), arrest, and processing. For the two hours that the cop is off the road, a bunch of curb-bouncers were driving.

Police administration gives these cops an atta-boy for their keen detective skill. They impose quotas (despite the denials) and officers pick the low hanging fruit. There is a reason why the BAC level in arrests has dropped statistically. It is not for "better training in detection" but because the police are encouraged to stop for any perceived infraction, not just bad or dangerous driving.

I've had the license plate light stop after coming home from a movie. It wasn't out either. Officer was disappointed. Honestly, think it was because I drove past two of them and they weren't doing anything. Made the mistake of looking over at them as they sat in a parking lot. Of course he followed me as stopped at multiple stop signs, waiting to see if I stopped incorrectly at them.

R Denonville wrote:There needs to be liquor enforcement by the Denver Police first.There currently is no liquor enforcement in Denver other than underage stings by police recruits.People lose their sense of good judgment with overconsumption of alcohol.The alcohol level has been lowered to .05 for DUI equal to two Beers for a 180lb person in one hour.I know someone that went to jail for one year after his third DUI (he was hit by a drunken driver and not at fault for the accident)Increased enforcement for DUI starts at the Bar, not doing so just makes money for the Dill & Dill law firm.

What other liquor enforcement at the bars is there? You might as well close the bars then, or change ordinances. You want the police to pull people over as soon as they leave the bar? On what basis will they do so? Are they going to watch people take drinks, and count how many? There isn't enough manpower. What are you talking about?

And no, I disagree. I don't feel the DUI limit should be lowered because it's somewhat arbitrary. We want to stop the people who are causing these high profile accidents, the wrong way drivers etc. We don't want to ruin the lives of people who went out and had a couple beers and are fine getting home. Someone who had a couple beers is not going to cause an accident like the one recently on Colfax. Overly punitive and punitive of the wrong people.

Point taken, but even "a couple of beers" can impair you to some extent. And not all drinkers metabolize alcohol the same way - if you don't drink much, you tend to feel the effects of even small amounts of alcohol pretty significantly (I do).